The Richmond man, who opted to remain anonymous, tried his hand at a new lottery game after he bought his usual Powerball ticket, according to Kentucky Lottery officials. With an extra $2 burning a hole in his pocket, the man picked up a Kentucky Lottery Fast Play – BIG W!N ticket.
“It was a fluke, really,” he said. “I had a couple of extra bucks and thought, why not?”
When he looked at his ticket, he saw what he thought was a $96 dollar win. It would be a few days before he found out that wasn’t actually the case.
“I went back to the store where I bought it a few days later, and they told me they couldn’t cash it because it was more than they could pay out,” he said.
So he then tried his local Walmart, where he was met with the same response. It was only then that the man took a closer look at the ticket and this time, he saw the word “jackpot.”
His Fast Play – BIG W!N game matched the number 20, which meant he won 20% of the $493,113 jackpot, bringing his total winnings to $98,622.
The first thing he did was tell his wife, but the way he broke the news — telling her not to “trip out” — made her assume it was something bad. But once she learned the truth, she was thrilled.
“We’ve been wanting to buy a home for a long time, and this will give us more options,” his wife said.
After mandatory taxes, the couple ended up taking home $71,007.84. In addition to their future home, the pair plan to invest in a new vehicle and save for the future.
